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ταὶ γὰρ γυναῖκες οὐδὲ τῶ μύρτω σιγεῖν
The phrase 'οὐδὲ τῶ μύρτω σιγεῖν' (not even silent as to the myrtle) relies on a specific Attic idiom where 'σιγεῖν' (to be silent) is construed with the dative of the thing about which one is silent. Here, the comparison to 'myrtle' (μύρτω) is not merely botanical; it alludes to the myrtle's traditional association with Aphrodite and the *sacra* of the women, particularly in the context of the Thesmophoria or general female religious observance. The construction implies a proverbial or hyperbolic state of silence: even the goddess's sacred plant, or perhaps the women's own ritual silence regarding it, is exceeded by their current silence (or lack thereof, depending on the ironic context of the play's climax). The use of the dative 'τῶ μύρτω' with 'σιγεῖν' is a rare syntactic feature in Aristophanes, where the dative often marks the sphere of the silence rather than the object of the verb, creating a compressed metaphor that requires knowledge of the ritual significance of myrtle in Athenian female cults to fully grasp the irony of the women's current inability to remain silent.
Lysistrata. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.